Posts Tagged With: Conservation

There are two types of technology change: Incremental and Disruptive. As a designer, disruptive is way more fun.

Incremental: How do we get more with less? For showers, building codes limit their consumption to 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) while green building rating systems are pushing manufacturers to get more with less; down to 1.5 gpm. The problem is that at a certain point there is a physical limit to the incremental change and efficiency gains will level off. My gut says that for shower heads this point is somewhere around 1.2 gpm. Any 50% reduction is something to be proud of, but it has taken a long time.

Disruptive: What if we ask a different question altogether: “Is there a better way to take a shower?” A couple startups are trying to answer this question with what they call a cloud shower. Previously only available as a luxury shower add-on, the technology is similar to a type of commercial humidifier. They claim that their technology not only uses 75% less water, but also provides a much more luxurious showering experience: providing more even coverage and rinsing more effectively. We now have a sudden 75% drop in water consumption, which also results in a major drop in the amount of water that needs to be heated, which in turn saves a lot of money. All this by simply swapping out a shower head! Brilliant!

Crozet, Virginia is becoming a vibrant, bustling, livable and walkable center. Within walking distance of all the amenities that this growing town has to offer in the heart of an existing neighborhood is the possibility of yet another community that shifts the focus away from the personal automobile to personal interaction. Click here to see the full design.

If you want to live here, invest in the concept, or help make it a reality please contact us.

Energy Actions – Moving People to Action

In honor of Energy Action Month, USGBC Greater Virginia is pleased to welcome Susan Elliott from the City of Charlottesville and Nate McFarland of Generation 180. Our speakers will present on energy actions and moving people to action, including trends seen in the local Energize!Charlottesville campaign and our local community and region, as well as efforts and methods to shift everyday people to make clean energy choices.

This luncheon will be held at City Space, 100 5th St. NE, on the Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, VA. Doors open at 11:45 and the Seminar begins at 12:00. Luncheons are open to the public. Lunch is provided, attendance is free for GVGBC members and $10 for non members. Register Here:

Crozet, Virginia is becoming a vibrant, bustling, livable and walkable center. Within walking distance of all the amenities that this growing town has to offer in the heart of an existing neighborhood is the possibility of a community that shifts the focus away from the personal automobile to personal interaction. Click here to see the full design.

If you want to live here, invest in the concept, or help make it a reality please contact us.

Natural swimming pools are somewhat of a magical unicorn in the United States. Luckily that is beginning to change as people begin to re-evaluate the chemical processes that we have become accustomed to.

Here is upworthy’s article on this great swimming pool project that is challenging the industrial swimming pool.

I wonder how this is the first of its kind, and it seems like there are very few professionals who understand this type of plant based system. If you’re wondering what to study in college, it is plant based alternatives to industrial processes and mechanical systems (yes, conventional swimming pools are an industrial process).

Here’s a great little article telling of the financial incentives of making your existing place more energy efficient. In a lot of cases, payback on energy improvement renovation investment is just a few years!